Easy Tteokbokki (Spicy Korean Rice Cakes) | Cookerru (2024)

FAQs

What is the spice used in tteokbokki made of? ›

Gochujang tteokbokki: This is a spicy sauce made with gochujang, a traditional Korean red chili paste. It adds a sweet, savory, and spicy taste to tteokbokki. This is the most popular type in the 21st century. Gungjung tteokbokki: This type of rice cake uses brown soup soy sauce as its base.

If the rice cakes are freshly made and soft they do not need to be soaked. Otherwise, soak them in warm water for 10-20 minutes to rehydrate them a bit. Some rice cakes that have been refrigerated or frozen are very dry. These can be soaked for a few hours to overnight.

Rice cakes offer very little nutritional value and are low in calories, fiber, and protein.

Though all rice cakes taste like pounded rice (even the ones made with brown rice vary little in their taste), the specific shape dramatically affects the texture. Thin slices are significantly less chewy than large, cylindrical rice cakes that are genuinely toothsome in the degree of their chewiness.

Expanding Variety. Tteok means rice cake and bokki stir-fried food. Combining these two words forms the term tteokbokki, or “stir-fried rice cake.” Ask Koreans what food makes them most nostalgic about their childhood and tteokbokki is the first thing they'll say.

Traditionally, tteokbokki is made using anchovy broth – but I know that's a difficult ingredient to find. So, I used chicken broth for this recipe which provides a really great flavor. You could also use water, but I recommend some sort of flavored broth for more flavor!

Some rice cakes are really not a good choice at all. Rice is a high glycemic index grain, even when it's whole grain (brown), so it can spike blood sugar levels. What's more, some brands add sugar or corn syrup to their rice cakes.

Tteokbokki is probably THE most famous street food from Korea. They're chewy rice cakes simmered in a glorious mix of sweet, savory, spicy sauce that is completely addictive. The best thing about tteokbokki is that it's so easy to make.

Rice cakes mostly contain carbohydrates, most often from processed white rice that is considered mostly a source of “empty calories.” While one or two cakes won't contribute a very high amount of carbs to your diet, eating more than this amount can, especially if you choose a sweetened rice cake product that's made ...

Examine your tteok with your senses of sight and smell. If you notice a sudden change in color or visible mold growth, or if the cakes have a strong, unpleasant odor, they have likely gone bad.

Can I eat tteokbokki raw? ›

While fresh tteok can be eaten out of hand with little to no preparation (Susan Kim likes the bouncy pieces simply dipped in a mixture of honey and soy), frozen tteok needs heat and liquid to bring it to its full chewiness potential.

The most convenient way to store Korean rice cakes in the short term is by putting them in the refrigerator. When doing so, it's best to either keep them in their original packaging or place them in an airtight container.

It's made of gochugaru (고추가루, Korean red chili peppers), yeotgireum (엿기름, barley malt), chapssal (찹쌀, sweet rice) or other grains, meju garu (메주가루, fermented soybean powder), and salt.

Gochugaru Chili is a coarsely ground Korean chili powder similar to crushed red pepper flakes in texture, traditionally made from sun-dried peppers without the seeds.

Tteokbokki Sauce

Gochujang: a Korean red chili paste that is sweet, spicy and smoky. It's made of red chili flakes, fermented soy beans, glutinous rice and salt and commonly used in Korean cuisine. Gochujang is sold in different spice levels so make sure to get the mild kind if you're new to spice.

If you're not familiar with it, gochujang is a Korean condiment, and is a thick paste made from red chillies (well, actually a type of dried chilli flakes called gochugaru), glutinous rice, salt and fermented soybeans, and has a gorgeous, bold crimson colour.